Site Details
Closest Access Point: Shall Lake (Access # 17)
Distance to Access Point: 5 KM (1.5 hours single carrying)
Difficulty of Travel From Access Point: Easy
Maintenance Level: Regular
Date Visited: August 2023
This is a conveniently located site with lots of space to spread out. It’s also within a stones throw of a very busy portage, so expect some visitors.
Terrain: This is an extraordinarily level site. I think it must have once been a road or maybe even a rail bed. It’s flat and very easy to navigate. There is a slight rise from the canoe landing to the site itself. Maybe 10 feet, but it’s not a hard hill to navigate.
Canoe Landing: The site is fronted by a wide beach. The underwater terrain is more sand. There are no obstacles to speak of, and you can fit multiple canoes along the beach without getting in each other’s way.
Fire Pit: The fire pit is tucked away at one end of the site. Probably my least favourite aspect of the site is the pit’s location. It’s hemmed in by trees, so doesn’t offer much of a water view. It’s a very nice pit though. Well built and the plus side of those trees is that it’s well sheltered from the wind.
Tent Sites: This entire thing is a tent site. You could build a small tent city here if you were so inclined (speaking less hyperbolically, you could probably get 4 or 5 tents on this site before it started to feel too crowded (remembering of course that the Park’s rule is a max of 3 shelters per site)).
Accessories: The closest thing to an accessory would be this site’s proximity to the Shirley/Ryan portage. It’s basically an extension of it, so you can walk from your tent to Ryan Lake if you’re so inclined. Your mileage from this will vary. It’s convenient, but it also means you’re going to have people walking by your site quite frequently. (Apart from the portage, the benches around the fire pit are quite good).
Thunderbox: The thunderbox is down a short path out the northeast corner of the site. It’s not the nicest thunderbox I’ve come across, but it’s there and it’s not full, so you can’t really complain.
Swimmability: This is a great swimming site. The beach makes for a good spot to wade in and the afternoon sun sticks around for a while.
View: The view from the beach is quite nice. You get a decent sunset, and if you paddle out a bit it’s even better. From the interior of the site the view is mostly obstructed, with the exception of this window out near the fire pit.
Notes: This site was perfect for our purposes when we were there. We were a bit group with lots of kids, and this fit that need like a … like a something that fits very well. Like, a glove or maybe a wetsuit? I dunno. This site works.
Related Trip Report: Shirley Lake Basecamp
This site is now occupied by camper trailers. There is an article online about a dispute between the “occupants” and some campers about how they were able to take the site. 🙁
I saw that trailer back in November (2024)!That’s nuts that it’s still there.